Himalayan Nuns

The Pema Chodron Foundation is happy to support:

The Tibetan Nuns Project provides education and humanitarian aid to refugee nuns from Tibet and the Himalayan regions of India. Our support will help provide training programs to educate, empower, and improve the status of ordained Tibetan women.

We are happy to specifically support the annual month-long inter-nunnery debating session called Jang Gonchoe. This practice of debate combines logical thinking with a deeper understanding of Buddhist philosophy and is an essential part of monastic education in the Tibetan tradition. The debate training helps not only to preserve the Tibetan culture, but provides the nuns with the opportunity to learn from a centuries-old tradition which will enable and empower them to become great teachers in their own right. The benefit of this is immeasurable and will create an enduring legacy for generations to come. Learn more about The Tibetan Nuns Project.

The Deboche Project: In 2006, the Deboche Project was formed by a group of individuals concerned about the Tibetan and Sherpa nuns that resided in the Deboche convent in Nepal. Their goal now is to build new residences and a year-round teaching/ meditation facility, not only for the nuns, but to provide a source for the cultural preservation for the surrounding villages.

The nuns of Deboche are considered ceremonial nuns who perform ‘pujas’ or religious ceremonies throughout the Khumbu. They start each day with prayers for the well being of all sentient beings, that they may find happiness through compassion and loving kindness. The nuns have voiced a desire for further monastic training so that they may become teachers and learned mediators.

By rebuilding Deboche and creating a teaching/meditation facility, we are working to enable these nuns and other dedicated students to achieve lifelong goals and preserve their Tibetan/Sherpa culture and Buddhist traditions. Read Construction Project Updates as of November 2018. And, here you can see details of the original nunnery restoration and expansion project.

The Nuns of Shechen Orgyen Chodzong Nunnery – Shechen Orgyen Chodzong Nunnery is one of the few facilities in Bhutan where women can study and practice in the Nyingma tradition. This small nunnery was the first monastic center founded by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche after leaving Tibet. Upon his death in 1991, the facilities were expanded to create a vibrant practice and study center, giving women the unique opportunity to train in the lineage of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. This project allows for completion of a new hostel for the growing community of nuns. One hundred and fifteen nuns currently live in the nunnery, practicing and performing ceremonies based on the rare terma cycles of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, which are only kept alive in a few monastic centers.

The Monastic College of Surmang Dutsi Til – Surmang, located in eastern Tibet, was a thriving complex of monasteries under the direction of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, until its destruction during the Chinese invasion during the 1950s. Today, Surmang Düdtsi-til remains one of the poorest monasteries in Tibet with few resources to fulfill its traditional role of serving the spiritual and educational needs of the nuns, monks and lay people of the area. The Pema Chodron Foundation has made a significant contribution to the building of the monastic college (shedra) at Surmang monastery. Learn more here …

The Nuns of Tsoknyi Gechak Ling – Tsoknyi Gechak Ling is a small Buddhist nunnery in the village of Chobhar, in the foothills near Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. About 100 nuns live at Tsoknyi Gebchak Ling, having fled Tibet in an effort to continue their meditation practice and study and keep their tradition alive. The Pema Chodron Foundation has provided the funding to build a three-year center (Pema Chodron Drubde) to help these nuns fulfill their deep aspiration to realize the profound depth of their tradition. Learn more about The Nuns of Tsoknyi Gechak Ling.

The Nuns of Sher Gompa – Sher Gompa is in the high and remote region of Menang, Nepal, nestled in the heart of the Annapurna mountains near the border with Tibet. This remarkable group of women are engaged in the traditional, and very rigorous three-year retreat which is the culmination of their study and training. The Pema Chodron Foundation has agreed to fully fund and support these nuns. Learn more about The Nuns of Sher Gompa.

The Nuns of Karma Drubdey Nunnery in Bhutan – The Pema Chodron Foundation is delighted to have the opportunity to support the nuns of Karma Drubdey nunnery in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. The nunnery was established by the great scholar and meditation master, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche in 1968. Today, there are 127 nuns actively engaged in study and meditation retreat at Karma Drubdey Nunnery. Learn more about these nuns.